Boris Johnson (right) during a visit to the Airbus factory in Broughton, Wales, 12 August 2022. OLI SCARFF / AFP
Unaccustomed to provocations, Metro, a free daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom, could not resist a scathing irony on Friday 12 August: “The Prime Minister is present at a meeting,” he headlined in “Eins”. Boris Johnson, who will remain at the helm of the UK government until his successor is elected on September 5, has been particularly discreet since his own party was ousted. But on Thursday he was present at a meeting with power generator bosses organized in response to rising energy bills in the UK. However, rest assured, Metro said: “The meeting did not result in immediate concrete action. (…) In other words, [Boris Johnson] done absolutely nothing. »
Since his ouster from the Conservative Party leadership in July, Mr Johnson’s disheveled blonde figure has all but disappeared from radar screens. No significant announcements or important decisions were made. The person concerned also claims that he is responsible for accelerating day-to-day events and it is not up to him to set major strategic directions in a transitional role. “Big budgetary decisions must be left to the next Prime Minister,” announced a statement from Downing Street on August 7.
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Important personal matters
Would the British head of state, who has nothing left to gain politically, take an early leave? A government spokeswoman replied, somewhat annoyed, in a tight tone: “You haven’t read the daily report [de jeudi] ? Mind you, Boris Johnson was active that day alongside his meeting with the power producers: he phoned Sheikh Mohammed Ben Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and appointed one Pippa Lambert as acting senior president of the Organization for the Payroll Control of Civil Servants.
Mr. Johnson is also engaged in important personal matters. On July 30 he celebrated his marriage to Carrie Johnson née Symonds, 33, with whom he had lived for three years and with whom he has two children. The couple officially got married in spring 2021 but didn’t find time to throw a party.
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The outgoing prime minister, 58, originally planned to receive his guests at Checkers, an official country residence. But after his plan caused gnashing of teeth, Mr Johnson relied on this new mix of personal and professional life instead on the generosity of Conservative Party donor Lord Anthony Bamford, who made his land in the charming Cotswolds available. a region west of Oxford. A much-publicized video on social media shows the newlyweds awkwardly dancing to the tune of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.
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